"Alright. Why's everyone being so weird today, huh? Daichi, then the rest of the third years, and now you two. Seriously!," Kitsuna let her frustrations run just then and made the other two flinch.

"Sorry. Wait, Daichi?," Keishin's face tensed up again at the mention of the captain's name. That confirmed something Kitsuna had been wondering about for a while, since the previous evening actually.

"Yeah. You and him both. Think I didn't catch that?," she stared into Keishin's eyes directly. Takeda blinked back and forth, only having the general gist of a certain situation and his own presumptions.

"I don't-"

"Can you not try the same thing he did? I saw the bastard with my own two eyes. Think I wouldn't recognize his face?," she snapped when Keishin went for a denial as well. He studied the girl's face, and her eyes that burned in the evening's fiery light. She had freckles, and her complexion was darker. Hair lighter, too. But that face was undeniably similar to the old man at the inn. The piercing golden eyes were nearly identical, Kitsuna's being a shade or two lighter in color and intensity. Then his eyes fell on the scar under her right eye, something she used to hide with her hair or makeup.

"Right. I guess you would know better than anyone else," he huffed and put out his expired cigarette. Takeda looked between them, a thought hitting him like a truck just then.

"So. You mean that really helpful worker, at the inn. I thought there were some similarities but was that really..?," he didn't finish the sentence, but he didn't need to. Keishin's face fell to the ground, nose crinkled up and lips pressed tight. Kitsuna's face was partially hidden in shadow, but her mouth was curled into a nasty snarl.

"So. Why're we stopped here specifically?," Kitsuna's next question made the blonde's head snap back up. His eyes were widened with shock, then he let out a rough little laugh and shook his head.

"Well, Ukai asked me to stop here. It's close to where we would have swapped out anyway, so," Takeda answered with the information he had, but it left some holes. Keishin sighed and thought over something for himself.

"Your old man. Sawamura had a little run-in with him that I broke up. He didn't have much to say, but told me about this spot. You've never been here, have you?," Keishin decided being completely honest was best and charged ahead. Kitsuna shook her head to confirm that she wasn't familiar with this location, and her expression showed that she understood the unspoken parts all too well.

"Here," the coach handed a folded paper to Takeda. The teacher opened it up, scanning over whatever was scrawled on the scrap.

"You don't gotta go, if you don't want to. But-"

"No. I probably should. Where..is it?," Kitsuna put her hands deep into her pockets and her demeanor changed completely.

"Sorry, not good with this stuff," Keishin whispered to Takeda. He felt bad sending the teacher in with Kitsuna, but he really wasn't able to handle whatever might happen past the gates. Takeda smiled softly at the coach and led his student through the headstones to a rather large one further back. He hung back a little bit and left Kitsuna there, keeping an eye on her. The wind blew some dried grass blades by, and sent her somewhat curled up hair in different directions. She stood there in silence for several minutes, her hands sliding out of her pockets. They fidgeted around, grasping for something to do, then settled on her jacket's hem and clenched up around it.

"Kitsuna?," Takeda approached her slowly, with a small frown on his face.

"I.."

The girl started to talk but her voice left her. Takeda peeked at her face, studying her expression to try and guess what she was trying to say. Her brow was pushed so tight over the bridge of her nose that a whole range of wrinkles sprouted up there. Her eyes were close to bursting with tears, and she bit her bottom lip in a futile attempt to keep it from trembling. Anyone else might have taken that as her being obscenely angry, but Takeda understood it as something else. He looked to the tombstone, noting the fine engraving and the name etched into it. It was made of polished marble, and stood out among the others.

"I'm not really sure..what you're supposed to do here," Kitsuna finally got the words out. Takeda gave her an understanding smile then knelt down in front of the tombstone. He bowed his head and clasped his hands together in front of his face. Kitsuna mimicked his movements, slowly and clumsily.

There in the setting winter sun they prayed like that. To a spirit long-gone, of a mother who left her daughter all too soon. With only messages in an old tattered notebook as comfort, several years after the fact. Takeda, who knew of the situation but couldn't possibly understand the true depths of it, gave his thanks and offered some reassurance to the woman's ghost. Kitsuna started with the most basic of prayers she knew, never being too religious despite her mother's strong beliefs and teachings. Then it was like an unwritten letter, updates on her general situation. What she was doing, had done the past few years. All of it came flooding in at once, and the stark contrast between her current and past lives. Current and past selves. She was changed, in so many ways, and because of so many others around her. Good and bad. Dark and cold. Warm and bright.

Takeda heard something beside him, a sniffling and rustling of clothes. He opened his eyes slowly, looking from the corner of his eyes at the girl beside him. Her hands were balled up in her lap now, and tears glittered as they fell from her nose and down. Onto her sleeves, and pants legs. She must have been feeling so many overwhelming things, but she still struggled against her body's natural reactions. Maybe because he was there, or maybe because of the public nature of this place. Or maybe she was always like this, even when alone. Either way it didn't matter, to him, or to the people resting in the bus by the street.

Without a word, he rubbed her back. Between the shoulder blades, retreating for just a second when she flinched at the first touch. He kept his face pointed forward, trying to still respect her privacy to some extent. A small sob escaped her lips, and she held a hand over her mouth while her whole body trembled and shook. Her other hand reached toward him, slowly, shakily. Until it reached his jacket and clung tightly to it. He was surprised, but that passed quickly and was replaced with something else. Like a paternal instinct maybe, or something else entirely. He pulled her into his arms, her head resting against his chest, and she finally let it all out there in his gentle embrace. The sun completely disappeared over the horizon while they sat there in that awkward huddle and she bawled her eyes out while clinging to his jacket for dear life. Finally she settled down, and pulled back while trying to catch her breath. Takeda offered a handkerchief, which she took and used to blow her nose. She was still wiping her face when he helped her to her feet.

"Sorry," she muttered, voice hoarse.

"Don't mind. It's better to let things all out sometimes," he patted her shoulder when they made it back to the bus. Takeda joined Keishin just outside while Kitsuna climbed back into the vehicle and took a seat by the front.